Articles

Shiatsu Learnings & Reflections

The Five Lights Center articles share insights, experiences, and wisdom from our vibrant global community — practitioners, students, and teachers dedicated to living the spirit of Shiatsu.

Here, you’ll find reflections on energy and touch, personal healing journeys, and practical tools for daily balance — from Tai Chi and Reiki, to color therapy, tapping, Shiatsu techniques, and more.

Each article is an invitation to pause, breathe, and reconnect — reminding us that through awareness, movement, and compassionate touch, we continue to grow together in the art of living.

Exploring the Roots of Shiatsu: From Do-in Ankyo to Modern-Day Therapy

Shizuto Masunaga, Akinobu Kishi, and many contemporary shiatsu teachers relate to Anpuku as one of the manual arts that gave birth to the...

Philosophy

Manuela and Serena

Mar 18, 20247 min read

Le Shiatsu, un Art Japonais – The Japanese Art of Shiatsu, an Excerpt.

On the one hand, we discover a great complexity. The roots are unclear and for Western people, it is difficult to define Eastern medicine...

Stephane Cuypers

Mar 11, 20242 min read

Makko Ho / Zen Stretches: A Makko Ho Leader’s Perspective

Makko Ho can be defined in several ways. In Japanese, Ma means straight or direct, Ko means direction, and Ho means method...

Makko Ho & Meridian Stretches

Keith Strand

Mar 5, 20243 min read

Roots: An Excerpt from 'From Source to the Ten Thousand: Shiatsu and Life Practice'.

This short text is an excerpt from Chris McAlister's new book: 'From Source to the Ten Thousand: Shiatsu and Life Practice'. The expected Re

Philosophy

Chris McAlister

Feb 19, 20246 min read

Strengthening Winter Cooking

In our winter cooking, we need to let the nutrients settle into our deepest body structure...

Recipes

Bettina Zumdick

Jan 29, 20247 min read

What do you bring to the table or mat? What do you have in your hands?

The clients under our hands are complex beings: physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual.

Kyle Brooks, LMT

Jan 23, 20242 min read

甲辰 Year of the Wood Dragon

The dragon shows us our power is in our choosing, how we can step out of the race and attend to what we decide is important.

Philosophy

Casper Valentine

Jan 16, 20244 min read

Water Element and the Winter Season

In the Five Element Theory, winter is connected to the water element. Water is the most yin of the elements...

Five Elements Theory

Casper Valentine

Jan 9, 20242 min read

Can Walking in the Cold Balance our Energy?

In shiatsu we believe that movement is medicine. When we walk in the cold we're balancing the different energies in our body according to th

Philosophy

Kumiko Kanayama

Jan 3, 20242 min read

The World Taiji & Qigong Day Qi Waves

Lorelei Chang is a renowned modern dance artist, Qigong teacher, and a Chinese calligrapher.

Qi Gong

Lorelei Chang

Dec 26, 20231 min read

Textbooks to Fill a Gap?

A teacher once advised me to write the textbooks I wished I had during my own student days. Perfect! As my background was in journalism...

Pamela Ellen Ferguson

Dec 19, 20234 min read

FROM OHASHI’S YOUNGEST STUDENT

When I was thirteen years old I began studying and practicing the art of cooking macrobiotically, and I developed an intense reverence...

Shiatsu Journeys

Dara Kustler

Dec 12, 20235 min read

Working With Death And Loss In Shiatsu Practice By Tamsin Grainger

Death and new energy Understanding of Eastern life and death Title: How to use our Shiatsu skills when working with death and loss...

Tamsin Grainger

Dec 5, 20234 min read

Introduction To Proprioception By Karen Dawn Oei MA, Dip. BSS, SrSS

Proprioception is the body’s ability to perceive its own position in space. The Proprioceptive System is part of the central nervous...

Karen Dawn Oei

Nov 21, 20233 min read

Herbs and Shiatsu are like Mother Hand and Son Hand

adding herbs to your shiatsu practice can further improve your treatments by increasing inertia, longevity and specificity.

Recipes

Chilán Mustain

Nov 16, 20233 min read

Coming to Shiatsu

It is my great fortune to be born into this life where a pervasive under current of nature/spirit/ medecine rises periodically to the...

Chilán Mustain

Nov 16, 20232 min read

Awakening Body Consciousness By Patty De Llosa

We are living a worldwide emergency. How can we contribute to more peace, more sanity, more balance? Certainly by coming closer to the...

Kumiko Kanayama

Nov 7, 20238 min read

LAUGHTER by Sooyong Kim, LMT

The first person to write about the benefits of laughter was Norman Cousins, who had been diagnosed in 1964 with a degenerative incurable...

Kumiko Kanayama

Oct 27, 20233 min read

Tai Chi Ruler By Nayo Takasaki

TAI CHI RULER : Who was the founder of TAI CHI RULER? As a matter of fact, it has been in existence over a thousand years, from the...

Kumiko Kanayama

Oct 24, 20231 min read

What Is Restorative Yoga? By Ellen Driscoll

Positioning the Client for Traditional Shiatsu using Restorative Yoga Techniques by Ellen Driscoll, PT, Restorative Instructor, OWNER of...

Kumiko Kanayama

Oct 11, 20231 min read